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Why Do We Still Commute?

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Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#381

Post by notyourday »

gaastonsr wrote: post #366
notyourday wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that's exactly why managers aren't interested in people working remotely. Good managers ask when they actually need something and they expect those working for them to accommodate such requests immediately. That is why, after all, they are managers.

Bad managers IMO. Since their work should be minimize interruptions and facilitate communication inside and across teams.

No, the work of the manager is to do whatever is needed to deliver the result on the task assigned to them, including if necessary decisions to scrap, mothball, reassign, adjust, ignore whatever is happening in the company based on current/future state of the group they manage or based on the situation of the company.

That's why they are managers and not low level developers. Developer does not like it? Well, a developer can migrate to writing less code and caring more about business related stuff. It is not like those who can write serializer cannot figure if a certain fire drill is required based on the amount of $$ coming in from a customer who is affected by a bug/wants something.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#382

Post by jamaicahest »

wallflower wrote: post #312
wambotron wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Easy to procrastinate, easy to give false reports which then leads to regular overwork in the days just before a hard deadline. This isn't a remote problem. I see this _all_ the time with people at work now and I don't work remotely. This is more of a personal issue -- some people do it consistently, others don't. I never had that problem working remotely, and I don't pretend to be somewhere else in my regular repo…

> This isn't a remote problem. I see this _all_ the time with people at work now and I don't work remotely. One solution that usually works for me is to get a standing workstation and use it. Not one of those fancy ones that go up and down. Just one that is permanently up, like the Ikea standing desk hack. For a break, you can move and sit somewhere else. Standing takes a lot more energy, so, it is my belief, that yo…

>There are times where you don't have the energy to stand but need to work - so just sit

Then what's the point of not getting a table that can go up and down?

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#383

Post by BeetleB »

notyourday wrote: post #336
FullMtlAlcoholc wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>They start a thread/conversation/request, and then are slow to respond, or disappear. That's the primary benefit of qorking remotely IMO. Not having to immediately stop everything im doing allows me to stay in flow state. It also improves the quality of my responses and solutions since i can let the request percolate in my head. Usually, I come up better answers when Im not actively thinking

And that's exactly why managers aren't interested in people working remotely. Good managers ask when they actually need something and they expect those working for them to accommodate such requests immediately. That is why, after all, they are managers.

1. Bad managers are a lot more common than good ones.

2. Good managers set direction and exist to acquire resources for the team and eliminate barriers out of the way of the team when they are headed in that direction. Their role is not to interrupt the team so that they can answer a question from upper management.

3. Most of half of urgent manager requests are due to lack of planning either on their part or on their manager's part. They knew they needed this information a few days ago, but felt "it's OK to interrupt the team when I really need it".

4. Most of the other half are due to their inability to push back.

5. There will be times when the managers do need information urgently. It is then their responsibility to accept the hit in productivity that it incurs.

I've worked with both good and bad managers. The good ones have these qualities.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#384

Post by BeetleB »

notyourday wrote: post #381
gaastonsr wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bad managers IMO. Since their work should be minimize interruptions and facilitate communication inside and across teams.

No, the work of the manager is to do whatever is needed to deliver the result on the task assigned to them, including if necessary decisions to scrap, mothball, reassign, adjust, ignore whatever is happening in the company based on current/future state of the group they manage or based on the situation of the company. That's why they are managers and not low level developers. Developer does not like it? Well, a devel…

>No, the work of the manager is to do whatever is needed to deliver the result on the task assigned to them

You missed the part where the manager has to evaluate and push back if needed. If their primary role is merely to do what their bosses tell them to, then they are not doing any managing.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#385

Post by jjkk0101 »

jamaicahest wrote: post #382
wallflower wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This isn't a remote problem. I see this _all_ the time with people at work now and I don't work remotely. One solution that usually works for me is to get a standing workstation and use it. Not one of those fancy ones that go up and down. Just one that is permanently up, like the Ikea standing desk hack. For a break, you can move and sit somewhere else. Standing takes a lot more energy, so, it is my belief, that yo…

>There are times where you don't have the energy to stand but need to work - so just sit Then what's the point of not getting a table that can go up and down?

I'd say it's just a matter of budget.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#386

Post by jjkk0101 »

Ascetik wrote: post #354
wambotron wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Easy to procrastinate, easy to give false reports which then leads to regular overwork in the days just before a hard deadline. This isn't a remote problem. I see this _all_ the time with people at work now and I don't work remotely. This is more of a personal issue -- some people do it consistently, others don't. I never had that problem working remotely, and I don't pretend to be somewhere else in my regular repo…

I 100% agree. Being disciplined at work is a personal issue. I find I work much more efficiently at home than in an office. People who are lazy are lazy because they haven't developed the rights habits and motivation to work properly and efficiently. I saw more slacking off in offices than anywhere else in my entire life.

Well, you don't see that at home b/c it's just you perhaps? Joke aside, I also notice there is a lot of slacking off in offices when people are required to do some face time.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#387

Post by peterwwillis »

PeterStuer wrote: post #87
peterwwillis wrote: post #68

Things that happen when you're in the office: - spins around in chair, interrupts and asks coworker a question, workshops ideas for 15 minutes, comes up with solution, makes a meeting - boss comes over and tells workers there's some issue going on he's going to go deal with and he'll be available via cell only - when SCRUM ends, conversation continues in person, things get decided - walk into boss's office and make t…

Sounds to me like you're a detriment to your entire office, callously leeching people's time.

Sounds to me like you don't know how to work in an office.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#388

Post by peterwwillis »

briandear wrote: post #144
peterwwillis wrote: post #68

Things that happen when you're in the office: - spins around in chair, interrupts and asks coworker a question, workshops ideas for 15 minutes, comes up with solution, makes a meeting - boss comes over and tells workers there's some issue going on he's going to go deal with and he'll be available via cell only - when SCRUM ends, conversation continues in person, things get decided - walk into boss's office and make t…

Oh my gosh. That's pretty much my definition of hell. > spins around in chair, interrupts and asks coworker a question, workshops ideas for 15 minutes, comes up with solution, makes a meeting Slack please. Don't interrupt me. > boss comes over and tells workers there's some issue going on he's going to go deal with and he'll be available via cell only I don't care. If I need the boss, I'll text/Slack/email him/her. I…

Sounds like you work in Perfect Land. Where everything is planned perfectly, everything is executed perfectly, nothing unexpected ever comes up, and everyone does their job perfect. Boy, wouldn't we all like to work there.

When you work with 20 teams and product lines all intermingle and you don't have an unlimited amount of time, money, or "vision", shit needs to be re-evaluated from time to time, and waiting two weeks for the scrum to end is too slow.

I'm sure you're very happy to remain undisturbed, Mr. Important, but the rest of us have blockers we need addressing, so jump on a hangout for five minutes so we can get some shit done.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#389

Post by notyourday »

BeetleB wrote: post #384
notyourday wrote: post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the work of the manager is to do whatever is needed to deliver the result on the task assigned to them, including if necessary decisions to scrap, mothball, reassign, adjust, ignore whatever is happening in the company based on current/future state of the group they manage or based on the situation of the company. That's why they are managers and not low level developers. Developer does not like it? Well, a devel…

>No, the work of the manager is to do whatever is needed to deliver the result on the task assigned to them You missed the part where the manager has to evaluate and push back if needed. If their primary role is merely to do what their bosses tell them to, then they are not doing any managing.

Fine, call them supervisors.

99% of the companies can replace 75% of the managers with supervisors ( foreman in constructions/manufacturing ) and get a better result. Most of the "teams" inside organizations dont need managers - they need supervisors as organization does not need to have mini fiefdoms.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#390

Post by jjkk0101 »

wambotron wrote: post #263
jablan wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any commute is a commute. And if the only possible commute is driving 60+ minutes, citizens should seriously consider changing their city (in both meanings of the verb), rather than pretending a virtual workspace is as good as real one.

This is an extremely naive view of living situations and how "easy" it is to just move somewhere. I worked for a company in NYC for years and lived 8 miles from work. It took me a minimum of 90 minutes to get to work. You seem to think I can either just uproot my family and move to some sort of utopia city with short commutes, good public schools, and well-paying jobs; OR I can just change New York City itself. The f…

Big cities are here to show how naive we can be about life.
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